Measuring Home Activities and Participation of Children Receiving Early Childhood Intervention Services in Spain

Abstract

This study analyzed the fit of data collected with the Measure of Engagement, Independence, and Social Relationships for 3- to 5-year-olds (MEISR 3-to-5-years-old) to a proposed theoretical model based on the cross-walk of MEISR 3-to-5-years-old items and codes from 7 chapters of the Activities and Participation component of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-Children and Youth (ICF-CY). Participant children (N = 599) were recruited from 44 early childhood intervention programs across 9 autonomous communities (i.e., states) in Spain. Children’s ages ranged from 36 to 72 months (M = 49.22; SD = 9.77). Parents of children completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and a MEISR 3-to-5-years-old scale. Reliability and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results supported the internal consistency of the MEISR 3-to-5-years-old items and its content validity for assessing child participation based on the ICF-CY framework. Statistically significant differences on the mean percentage of children who presented difficulties and learning opportunities when participating in home routines by the Activities and Participation ICF-CY chapters were found. No differences were found on children’s strengths for participation across chapters. Implications for practice are discussed. Such implications highlight the use of the MEISR 3-to-5-years-old in early childhood intervention programs to assess child functioning, plan interventions and follow-up child progress to promote learning and development of children.